Being a parent can be difficult for a number of reasons – not only are you responsible for raising and taking care of your kids, making sure they do well at school, treat people well and are developing at the same rate as their peers, but you need to bathe, clean and feed them! Making lunches each morning can be a chore when your children are screaming, kicking and refusing to get out of bed!

That is why meal planning is essential to success. We recommend taking the time each evening when the kids go to bed to plan their lunches ahead using sealable and waterproof containers. A lot of moms even do their entire meal plans for the week on Sunday including lunches and dinners so that they have the week free to do other chores. I was never a fan of the idea of planning ahead until I started a new diet called the 21 day fix in which the premise is the use containers to lose weight so you don’t have to calorie count. By using the 21 day fix containers in various sizes, I was able to learn about portion control and also save time for myself throughout the week. There are different colored containers depending on what you want to achieve with your weight loss. You’ll use a purple container to fill up fruit, a green container for vegetables and a red container for proteins. You can use chopped fruit and vegetables alongside a protein full dip made of seasoning and Greek yogurt.

There are other environmental benefits as well in using reusable containers because you reduce waste and save money in the end on packaging and on the temptation to buy meals and snacks on the go. You’ll also save time by doing it all at once and be less stressed throughout the week. I own several sets of the 21 day fix containers and then a large box of different reusable take away trays so that I can pack and freeze the meals for use in the future. Make sure to invest in containers that are BPA free and also ones that are water and leak proof so your kids don’t spill or make a mess at school! You also want to be able to freeze the containers so you can pull out the meals as necessary throughout the week.

Well, there you have it! Our tips on why meal planning and using containers can help save you time, money and energy! Let us know what your favorite recipes are to make in advance. Until next time. 🙂

The biggest mistake that people make when trying to lose weight is over-eating. They may stop eating junk food entirely and start eating healthy food, quit soda and stick to drinking water. But they eat too much of the healthy food and don’t realize that it is hurting their weight loss progress. Yes, there is such thing as too much fruit or whole wheat bread. And no, eating a bag of almonds isn’t better than a doughnut.

That doughnut carried 300 calories and the almonds were 1000 calories. Of course the almonds have more nutritional value, but if the portion size is too large, it’ll ruin your progress because the calorie count is too high. The only way to avoid making this mistake is to restrict your portion sizes and be smart about what you are eating. A lot of people don’t realize what constitutes one serving or one healthy portion of meat or chicken, and usually eat three to four times as many carbs as they should per sitting. A new popular program by Autumn Calabrese teaches how using the 21 day fix containers to teach portion control can help you drop weight dramatically. The program contains seven different containers in different colors that are coordinated according to each food group. Yellow containers are quite small and they are for carbohydrates that are healthy and will provide energy to get you through the day.

The red containers are for proteins, primarily from white meats or lean red meat and dairy such as yogurt and cottage cheese.

Fruits and vegetables allow for larger portions and you can have between 2-5 portions each day because these are low in calories and high in nutrients. You can also have some fats and cheeses but in smaller quantities since fat contains higher calories per gram than carbs or proteins do. By taking in smaller portion sizes each day using these containers, you’ll learn to be able to eat reasonably when going out to restaurants as well.

The problem in America is that portion sizes even in restaurants or at home are over twice as big as they should be. If we are eating twice as much as our bodies need, we are eating for a larger body, and your body will become that large. So it is important to eat for the body that you want, not the body that you have. Eat smaller portions and you will become smaller yourself.

Also by adding in regular cardio and weight training, you’ll continue to burn more calories and be able to build a strong, fit body that you will be proud to show off on the beach come summer!

The brain in the human body uses approx. 60-70% of all the body’s available energy at any given time. The brain runs on proteins like cars runs on gasoline. Meat contains lots of proteins, so it’s good to eat meat, but with any other food, you have to know your limits.

Cooking healthy is often confused with bland food. That is far from the case. There are plenty of spices and marinades that you can use to flavor your food and keep it healthy.

The key is to have the proper balance in your diet so that you are not consuming too much sugar or carbohydrates and that you are getting enough protein and fiber.

A healthy diet provides the recommended daily allowance for vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Any diet that fails to meet the minimum daily allowance for any nutrient is unhealthy. Of course, providing the daily allowance for all nutrients is next to impossible given the poor nutritional value of today’s diets.

Each serving is about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of veggies. That sounds like a lot, but veggies shrink as they’re cooked. Select from zucchini, carrots, endive, yes you can grill endive, eggplant, portabella mushrooms, celery, yams, red onions, and white potatoes. Rinse and scrub the veggies. You don’t have to peel. Clean and scrub veggies. Cut in half or into two-inch chunks.

Ad the olive oil to the prawns, pepper and coriander. Boil a large pan of salted water, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Then heat the prawns in a hot frying pan with a little oil for 1 minute on each side, then toss them into the pasta, adding the broccoli, pak choi, and basil. Pour the lemon and lime juice and serve.

Dump 3 level cups of white flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour. Add two tablespoons virgin olive oil and the yeasty water. Stir with a spoon until the dough becomes too stiff for the spoon. Then incorporate the rest of the flour using your hands.

Natural, healthy food organic recipes are usually tasty. Nutritionists tell us that there is more nutrition in the cardboard box that packages your cornflakes than there is in your cornflakes. But even if cornflakes were nutritious, they can’t compare with the flavor of strawberries straight from your organic garden.

Yogurt from raw milk which is pretty easy to find these days. Yogurt can improve the body’s immunity against disease, helps to digest food and remove unwanted fat in our body, so the body becomes healthy. Yogurt is also known for maintaining good skin mildness. Routine drinking yogurt also makes smoother skin, soft and not dry.

Some best healthy foods are so good for you that they end up on any nutritionists’ list of top bets, and others that just don’t get the attention they deserve. Until now.

All the foods you’ll see here are whole foods that are widely available, affordable, full of natural nutrients and taste good too.

Let us take you beyond blueberries, nuts and salmon, and introduce you to some others that are loaded with nutritional goodness and might just make it into your diet once you learn more about them.

First up, beans and lentils… two of the most overlooked options you’ll find. Beans are rich in protein, fiber, complex carbs, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Even if you use the canned variety, you can make them healthier by looking for lower sodium options or rinsing the beans with water.

Most of us don’t come close to eating the three cups of beans a week recommended by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines. To help, add beans to soups, stews, salads or grain medleys. There are other recipes you might consider; the internet is a great source of new ideas.

Second on the list is watermelon, the favorite of summer. It’s sweet, fun to eat and juicy, but best of all low in calories and full of vitamin C. A, potassium, and lycopene. Being high in water, it even helps meet your fluid needs for the day. The thick peel protects the flesh from pests which has earned it a place on the Environmental Working Groups “clean 15” produce.

Next are sweet potatoes, a staple of Thanksgiving dinner, and though often thought of as high in calories and carbs, these are nutritional all-stars. They’re an excellent source of beta-carotene, vitamin C. fiber, and potassium. What’s more, this veggie is versatile and sweet tasting, so it doesn’t need much to make it great.

Try topping a sweet potato with a sprinkle of cinnamon, applesauce or crushed pineapple, or black beans and salsa. Also delicious mashed, sliced into French fries or baked until golden.

Fourth on the list is red cabbage, a cruciferous veggie that’s an excellent source of fiber, vitamins A, D and K, folate and trace minerals. What’s more, they’re only 22 calories in one cup of chopped cabbage. It can be eaten raw, cooked, sweet or savory, like a coleslaw. It can be added to soups, salads, casseroles, burgers or sandwiches. This veggie can boost cancer-fighting enzymes.

Fifth on the list is canned tomatoes because Cooking tomatoes release some of the lycopene, a disease fighter.

A 2009 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that a diet rich in vegetables might help prevent prostate cancer, and maybe other types of cancer as well. Use canned tomatoes for pizza, sauces, and homemade salsa. You can add some into soups, stews, casseroles, or pasta dishes. If you don’t like canned veggies, consider low sodium vegetable juices.

The sixth best healthy foods are plain nonfat Greek yogurt, a standout among the many options on the market today. All yogurts are excellent sources of potassiurn,calcium, zinc, protein, and vitamins B12 and B6 . Greek yogurt is creamier and thicker. It has probiotic cultures and is lower in lactose, and has two times the protein content of other yogurts. This protein will help keep you feeling fuller, longer. You can pair the tart taste with the natural sweetness of fresh fruit or whole grain cereal.